Show By Rock!! Review- Bring Out the Waifus!

Photo courtesy of: HERE

 Show: Show By Rock!!

Genre: Music, Slice of Life, and Comedy

 Audience: Everyone

Rating:

 

I wanted to start with this picture because the cuteness levels are way too high not too and it pretty shows half of the plot summary right there. But anyway, Show By Rock!! follows the adventures of Cyan Hijirikawa as she is transported from her normal world to that of the extremely colorful one called MIDI City. In this world the center of everyone's existence seems to be music and after she saves a famous rockstar Cyan is swept away and joins a girl group called PLASMAGICA! A 12 episode anime based on a music app, this series will make you laugh, cry, and want to transported right away. 

Characters

Cyan Hijirikawa was a normal human girl who since a young age had always had a love for music. Whether it was writing, singing, or playing guitar, Cyan loved it all. A shy girl at heart though, Cyan finds herself stuck outside the Music Clubroom as she fails to find the courage to ask them to join. Later that night though she finds herself transported into another world and there follows her dream to be a musician. Cyan is the cutest little character I've ever seen. Its not just her outfits (even though I've added her to my cosplay list), but her personality in general. As someone who is painfully shy at times I totally get how frustrating it can be to tell your actual feelings. Its not exactly the easiest thing in the world to be like, 'Hey guys I'm actually here to save you all with my magical guitar and I'm actually from another world.' She's a very loving character who actually kicks butt at playing guitar. And she actually knows how to play! That's the awesome part this series, is that she doesn't just magically know how to play. There are tons of flashbacks that show just how hard she worked to get to that point. Cyan is a cute protagonist and she earns the title all the way through the series.

Photo courtesy of: HERE

Besides our protagonist, ChuChu, the gothic bunny leader of the group, Moa, a pink alien drummer who's in MIDI to investigate the world, and Retoree, an awkward dog eared bassist who has a huge crush on Cyan, all make up the girl band PLASMAGICA. Caring and curious towards their new bandmate, these girls definitely identify with the word Waifu. And they should with how cute they are... I would want them to be my Waifus for sure. They're more than just a cute face though and Cyan really brings that out in them. In some ways the girls all really respect Cyan. Retoree is more in love than simply respect but that's beside the point. They want to be like her and struggle with finding themselves along the way. I cried multiple times in this series simply because of how hard these characters try to make it big and figure out who they want to be. Go girls go! You can do it! 《《o(≧◇≦)o》》

Photo courtesy of: HERE

Along with our girls, the record company they are signed with also has a boy group. Ladies and gentlemen please meet the SHIGANCRIMSONZ, aka the biggest group of dorks you'll ever meet. Don't be fooled with how cool they look guys! They're literally just a huge group of idiots. Nicely dressed idiots. Working hard to make it to the top, these guys' one flaw is their personality. With the exception of Rom, the group is constantly fighting on who is the best in the group. Aion, the blonde with a Kingdom Hearts getup, constantly refers to himself as a god, Yaiba, the glasses dude, thinks he's a real life samarai, and Crow, the red head, is a farm boy who insists that they call their fans Cattle. Man of your dreams right there huh? This group's talent in music, is literally the one thing that saves their butts. They're the kind that could fall on their butt on top of a robber and they'd say it's because of their awesome balance. A total opposition to the girls though the animation on these guys is pretty awesome. It's kind of laughable, how out of place compared to all the cute girls they are but I guess that's why making them so manly works. All the testosterone.

Besides the main two bands of this series there are a lot of awesome groups and side characters that they meet. We don't get to know much about these guys but they're still really cute and awesome. Lots of different cultures can be seen and the character designs really make all of them unique which is important with how many there really are. I hope to see more of these guys if they continue the series. Back stories for days!

Animation and Story 

The animation for this series is really different than what I'm used to. It uses the 3D sequences that are popular in idol/musical shows now a days but really tends to make it its own. The characters turn into more animal like chibis and it really works for what the show is going. Almost like playing on Maplestory or Gaiaonline, the characters give off the feel of a different self. This really helps contribute to the performance aspect a lot. When on stage, usually you're not going to be yourself but a 'better' version instead. The 3D is cute and helps mark the difference in when a character is performing/fighting and when they are just relaxing. It's interesting also because the characters in the background are always in the 3D mode. 'We are not the focus so we don't need the detail' is the kind of feel I got from it. Its a smart move too and helps the audience find the focal point. 

The story itself, while a little repetitive, is something a little unexpected in my opinion. When I first saw Cyan being taken to MIDI City I instantly thought of the DC Short series about Amethyst: Princess of Jemworld. 

 A young, shy girl gets teleported into a video game like world, finds out she has a greater purpose and has to defeat the villain. Same thing right? But the interesting thing about Show By Rock!! is that Cyan ultimately doesn't fight the bad guy alone. She has the help and guidance from her friends the whole time and grows as a character from it. Amethyst learns a little bit along the way, but Cyan goes from being this shy meek girl to a strong confident musician. The other characters help her win. Sure, shows like Sailor Moon and Magical Knight Rayearth have this aspect to them, but Cyan really doesn't have to fight much until the very end. It makes the story so much more than your stereotypical magical girl genre. The fact that music played a part in this really helped as well. The story almost takes a step back compared to the characters and I think that's totally awesome.

Final Thoughts

 

 Show By Rock!! is a unique series with lots of lovable characters. I want to cosplay them all because they're so cute but I also want to huge these goofballs after all the trouble they get into. Its a show that's definitely for all ages, with the exception of a few innuendos that kids will miss anyway. If you love music then you'll definitely appreciate the effort that went into making this and find yourself with theme song downloaded before you know it. The story starts out a little basic but by the end of it, the characters destroy any thought of that right away. I would definitely give this 5/5 hearts! Definitely would check it out again!

Afternote: This was my first review so please let me know how I did! I'd like to make this an ongoing thing so leave your thoughts in the comments! Thank you cuties!